Control Station Software Shipped With Latest Release of PlantPAx Process Automation System

Online, January 8, 2013 (Newswire.com) - Control Station today announced further alignment between its process automation portfolio and that of Rockwell Automation. The company's PID controller tuning software is the only third-party product included in the most recent release of the PlantPAx™ process automation system.

Control Station's LOOP-PRO™ TUNER (Allen-Bradley® Edition) software was integrated within the PlantPAx engineering workstation. TUNER integrates seamlessly with the PlantPAx environment, utilizing either RSLinx® or FactoryTalk® software to access live process data and essential PID controller attributes. The software utilizes a patent-pending modeling innovation that permits the accurate modeling of even oscillatory and noisy process data. It shipped to all PlantPAx customers with the October release.

"TUNER has proven to be an integral and valuable optimization technology for many of our process customers," shared Greg Hood, PlantPAx product manager at Rockwell Automation. "Its ease-of-use and high return on investment directly align with our goals for the PlantPAx system."

The engineering workstation is a preconfigured, drop-in template that enables rapid delivery of the PlantPAx solution. Deployed via an image on a USB hard drive, it significantly reduces validation costs and initial engineering time. The engineering workstation includes all the necessary software to fully configure the control and visualization components of the PlantPAx process automation solution. The license of Tuner permits PlantPAx customers to evaluate the software in the context of their specific control and optimization needs. As a result of the tight integration, upgrades to a full license require no further validation or engineering time.

"The engineering workstation simplifies end-user access to best-in-class technology and it accelerates their time-to-benefit," noted Rick Bontatibus, Control Station's vice president of Global Sales. "This approach simultaneously expands our market access while augmenting the capabilities of the Rockwell Automation process technology."

Control Station first aligned with Rockwell Automation in 2009 through its enrollment in the Encompass Referenced Products program. TUNER became the first PID controller tuning software referenced by Rockwell Automation. The Company's PlantESP platform for plant-wide controller monitoring and asset reliability are also referenced through the Encompass Partner Program. Control Station is among a select group of technology companies with global status in the program.